Anatomy of a new instrument – Jaltarang for Ocean of Milk

First gathering up the raw materials. Here I am in one of my fave music stores, an oriental grocery, trying out bowls for pitch. I’ll take my choices home & file them down to raise the pitch or add water to them to lower it.

Here I’ve tuned the bowls and am testing the entire set on the kitchen table. The hard surface of the table is muting some of the ring. Next, I’ll build a new table for them with a styrofoam top so they’ll ring out.

Here’s a test of the finished instrument to be debuted for Ocean of Milk at Atlanta’s High Museum. It’s part of my live score for the shadow puppet performance. In addition to the bowls, I’m also using the foot pedals for a Roland Handsonics for bass notes.